1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to cleaning of a mask and, more particularly, to a fast and effective apparatus for cleaning the surface of a mask to increase the yield of a process for producing semiconductor.
2. Related Prior Art
Conventionally, a worker cleans the surface of a mask by hand. The worker puts the mask on a holder, uses cleaner liquid such as acetone, ethanol and de-ionized water to flush the surface of the mask, and uses a brush to brush the surface of the mask, trying to remove particles from the surface of the mask. The step of using the cleaner liquid to flush the surface of the mask and the step of using the brush to brush the surface of mask can be repeated for several times if necessary. Then, the worker uses the cleaner liquid to flush the surface of the mask one last time before he or she dries the surface of the mask. Such a cleaning process is intended to clean the surface of the mask of impurities and sediment. This cleaning process however puts the worker in the risks of excessive exposure to the cleaner liquid, which is based on organic solvent that is hazardous to human health.
To solve the foregoing problem, various automatic mask-cleaning apparatuses have been devised. A large amount of cleaner liquid based on organic solvent is still used in the automatic mask-cleaning apparatuses although human exposure to the cleaner liquid is reduced. Hence, there are still problems with control over the cleaner liquid and pollution related to the use of the cleaner liquid. Moreover, the cleaning is not effective because the cleaning is based on flushing.
The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art.